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Smoke-free cities

World Lung Foundation

People have the right to be protected from the negative health impacts of second-hand tobacco smoke, and providing the protection is an obligation under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). While an increasing number of countries have adopted smoke-free legislation, subnational regulations have often anticipated national laws or addressed second-hand smoke issues with measures beyond the legal or political scope of national governments.

Regulation at the city level to protect people against second-hand smoke is a complementary way to accomplish the WHO strategy for tobacco control, and it is also an example of interventions in the context of healthy urban governance that positively influence social determinants of health in urban settings.

City action

Recognizing the fundamental role cities can have in the global fight against the epidemic of tobacco use, we are publishing the stories of how nine cities from around the world have engaged in the process of becoming smoke-free.